But so far, the EPA's tests have not differed remarkably from the tests conducted by the state, which showed some contaminants, <span style="text-decoration: underline">but none that could be definitively linked to gas drilling or fracking</span>

"Mr. Seneca said the EPA has not done any detailed review to determine the cause of any contaminants."

Simply put the EPA is not looking into causation until all the test results are in, so any claims as to whether or not drilling operations caused it is merely speculation at this point although the PA DEP placed the blame squarely on Cabot's shoulders and Cabot accepted that until they deemed it was going to cost them too much to run a pipeline.

The referenced article above includes a link to the pdf of the actual results thus far. review of the first 75 pages or so show several things exceeding epa trigger levels such as: flouride, arsenic, chromium, lithium, sodium, methane, lead, and barium. several things with no epa or state safe levels found, some of which include: ethane, acetone, phthalate di-n-octyl, methyl acetate, bromophenyl-4 phenyl ether, carbazole, chlorophenyl-4 phenyl ether, dibenzofuran, dinitrotoluene-2, perylene-benzo(ghi), and phenonthrene.

As to the naturally occurring side of things, some non-naturally occurring compounds have been found one of which is Butyl Benzyl Pthalate (page 36).

Testing at 20 more water wells in a northeastern Pennsylvania community at the center of a debate over the safety of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale shows no dangerous levels of contamination, according to a report issued Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA had already tested 11 wells in Dimock, showing the presence of sodium, methane, chromium or bacteria in six of the wells before the results of the latest round of testing.

Three of the newly-tested wells showed methane while one showed barium well above the EPA's maximum level, but a treatment system installed in the well is removing the substance, an EPA spokesman said.

Featured in the documentary "Gasland," the Susquehanna County village of Dimock has been at the center of a fierce debate over drilling, in particular the process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The process involves injecting a mixture of water and chemicals deep underground to free trapped natural gas so it can be brought to the surface.

State environmental regulators previously determined that Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. contaminated the aquifer underneath homes along Carter Road in Dimock with explosive levels of methane gas, although they later determined the company had met its obligation to provide safe drinking water to residents.

The EPA is still providing drinking water to three homes where prior tests showed contamination. A second round of tests is under way, regulators said.

A group of Dimock residents suing Cabot assert their water is also polluted with drilling chemicals, while others say that the water is clean and the plaintiffs are exaggerating problems with their wells to help their lawsuit.

A Cabot spokesman said in a statement Friday that the "data confirms the earlier EPA finding that levels of contaminants found do not possess a threat to human health and the environment."

"Importantly, the EPA again did not indicate that those contaminants that were detected bore any relationship to oil and gas development in the Dimock area, particularly given the fact that any contaminants are more likely indicative of naturally-occurring background levels or other unrelated activities," the statement said.

Here is a copy the consent order dated November 4th, 2009 between Cabot and the DEP which clearly shows the DEP placed the blame on Cabot. It is dealing primarily with the methane issues that are still occurring in Dimock according to the EPA's results.

Unfortunately the DEP as a governmental agency can say anything they want....it is very difficult to get them to say they were wrong. It is very difficult to prove stray gas especially in an area where methane is naturally occurring in the groundwater. The DEP and EPA are very much guided and pressured by bad publicity. Not the field inspectors but the lawyers and the politically sensitive Harrisburg personnel that make the policy.

So the DEP placed the blame for gas migrating into the water on Cabot, not all theese chemicals you keep pointing out.

Big differance.

Also, according to a large group of local residents, the methane has been present in water wells in that area for years.....long before Cabot came to town.
No need to post all those links as they have been posted repeatdly on here.

At this point, niether DEP nor the EPA test show that the NG Drilling put any of the long list ofchemicals you keep posting, into the Dimock water.

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